Adriauna Barger
Adriauna Barger
Editorial Assistant
Families can expect to step into a whimsical world of dragons, fairies and dancing mushroom as the Museum of Kansas City celebrates its 85th anniversary with a brand new event — the Magical Garden Party — which will be hosted from 1 to 4 p.m., on Sunday, June 29 on The Museum’s East Lawn.
Hosted in partnership with a local organization StoneLion Puppet Theater (2400 E. Truman Road, Ste 100.), this garden party marks the first of its kind for The Museum — part of an intentional effort to create a more playful and inclusive public programming.
“We’ve never done anything like this before,” said Paul Gutiérrez, deputy director of visitor experience and public engagement at The Museum. “This event is all about creating new generational memories — fairies, bubbles, dragons and a lawn fully transformed into a magical wonderland.”
While Corinthian Hall has held previous 85th anniversary events — like 85 cent ice cream scoops, historical dinner series and lectures — this is the first time it has collaborated with StoneLion for a summer event. The two organizations have partnered for over a decade to present the annual Día de los Muertos — or its “Day of the Dead” celebration each fall, but the idea of a garden party, Gutiérrez shared, has been years in the making.
“We’d talked about it before, but the timing never quite worked out,” Gutiérrez said. “When we started planning our anniversary programming this year, I reached back out to Heather and said, ‘Let’s finally do it.’”
Heather Loewenstein, the founding artistic director and lead puppeteer of StoneLion, said she has long dreamed of bringing a magical garden to life on The Museum’s grounds.
“There’s actually a bit of historical inspiration,” Loewenstein said. “In the early 20th century, garden fairy hunts were incredibly popular — people even staged photographs trying to ‘capture’ magical creatures. It felt like a natural fit to tie in that history into something imaginative and family-friendly.”
This event will feature a giant, smoke-breathing dragon, a phoenix puppet, roving fairies and elves and interactive stations where kids can craft their own wands and crowns.
A fairy scavenger hunt will invite children to explore The Museum’s lawn, while enjoying free face painting, bubbles and dancing among mushrooms. Attendees are encouraged to wear costumes, bring picnic blankets and enjoy sweet treats from food trucks and Elixir products (the museum’s soda fountain eatery) on the lawn.
Admission will be “Pay What You Like,” a model that Gutiérrez said is designed to make the event as accessible as possible.
“It’s a way to invite everyone in without financial barriers,” he explained. “Whether a family pays $1or $100,it averages out, and people feel more welcomed.”
And Loewenstein agrees. “As artists, we don’t want ticket prices to limit who gets to experience joy,” she said. “By keeping it open, you allow entire families — multi-generational groups — to just show up and be part of something special.
For anyone who may leave the event feeling inspired to try puppetry themselves, Loewenstein encourages them to start creating right away.
“You’re never too young to start building,” she validated. “Anything can be a puppet — it’s about the story you tell behind it. That’s what makes puppetry so magical.”
Both Gutiérrez and Loewenstein said that they hope this event will become a summer tradition.
“We’ll collect feedback and see how the public responds,” Gutiérrez said. “But I’d love for this to become something people look forward to every year.”
Loewenstein, who will be performing with her team throughout the event, is especially excited to bring out some of the group’s iconic creations, including a rarely-seen Green Fairy puppet and its beloved dragon.
“It’s a chance to showcase the fantasy side of what we do and to connect with people in a joyful, magical setting,” she said.
The Museum of Kansas City will remain open from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m., on June 29. Tickets for the Magical Garden Party are now available online. In case of rain, the event will be rescheduled for Sunday, July 13.
For more information or to purchase tickets, visit https://museumofkansascity.org/events/magical-garden-party-with-stonelion-puppet-theater/.
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Dorri Partain
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